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At least two undrafted Ragin’ Cajuns have found landing spots, according to UL, as cornerback Michael Jacquet III agreed to terms with the Philadelphia Eagles shortly after the 2020 NFL Draft concluded Saturday night and receiver Ja’Marcus Bradley did the same with the Cleveland Browns.

Earlier Saturday, UL All-American offensive lineman Kevin Dotson was selected in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers despite not attending the NFL Draft Combine and All-Sun Belt Conference running back Raymond Calais went in seventh round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Dotson was the first non-Combine player picked and Calais was drafted out of a backfield that produced two other 800-plus yard rushers last season, Elijah Mitchell and Trey Ragas.

Calais did go to the Combine, but Dotson, Jacquet and Bradley all missed out on their canceled Pro Day at UL due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic plaguing the country.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft choice Raymond Calais Jr. runs the ball for UL as Pittsburgh Steelers pick Kevin Dotson (75, left) blocks on the back side during a game last season at Coastal Carolina.(Photo: Josh Bell, jbell@thesunnews.com)

Moral of the story?

Not everyone has to shine as bright as Robert Hunt – the Cajuns’ All-Sun Belt offensive lineman went Friday night in the second round, 39th overall, to the Miami Dolphins – to get their shot at the NFL.

Show that you may have what it takes to help a team at the next level, in other words, and the NFL scouts will notice.

Even if you’re playing at a Group of Five school – in a league perceived by many to not be nearly as competitive as a Power 5 conference like, say, the SEC, which produced a whopping 63 picks this year – NFL eyes are watching.

Even if it’s a conference whose teams seem to play as many games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights as they do on Saturdays in the fall.

Even if it’s the Sun Belt, which often does get nearly as much respect as it feels it deserves.

“These guys flip over every rock,” UL head coach Billy Napier said of the scouts. “It’s very analytical.

“Certainly the NFL rosters, the draft, the Pro Bowl are evidence that nowadays it doesn’t matter where you play or where you come from.”

According to an ESPN graphic posted during the draft, in fact, 65 percent of NFL rosters are comprised of players picked after the third round or who went undrafted.

Four other Sun Belt players in addition to Hunt, Dotson and Calais were drafted last week, three of the after the third round: Appalachian State running back Darrynton Evans (third round, Tennessee) and outside linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither (fourth round, Cincinnati), and Georgia Southern cornerback Kindle Vildor (fifth round, Chicago) and kicker Tyler Bass (sixth round, Buffalo).

Napier has said he feels Bradley will make an NFL roster, and he’s said he thinks a team will be willing to give Jacquet – who played just two seasons at cornerback after making the move from receiver – a chance to develop.

For those who did get drafted – like Hunt, Dotson and Calais – the odds are better.

But even for someone like fourth-rounder Dotson, this is just the beginning.

He has plenty of experience playing out-of-conference against bigger-name opponents – including against Mississippi State last season, at Mississippi State and Alabama in 2018, at Texas A&M and Ole Miss in 2017 and against Boise State and at Georgia as a redshirt freshman in 2016.

Those games produced work that helped Dotson get noticed.

“He’s got lots of film,” Napier said of Dotson. “He’s been a very steady, consistent player. … He played really well in big games.”

“He’s played against the best of the best,” Dotson’s high school coach, Paul Distefano, added with reference to the trip to then-No. 1 Alabama, “and he’s moving people around.”

But from this point forward, it's all about, even for a draftee like Dotson, all about what happens going forward.

“Whether he gets drafted or he’s a free agent doesn’t really matter,” Napier said before the draft. “It’s gonna be about what he does from the minute he does get drafted or picked up, and they’re gonna pay a guy that can do the job.”

Still, Pittsburgh coaches in particular were impressed by what they saw on film.

“He’s a people mover,” Steelers offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett said after the pick was made, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I really like that this guy can move.

“He does all the type of stuff we’re looking for when you’re looking at that old-school run-game stuff. This guy can do it. That’s what stood out when we watched this guy.”

ULL OL Robert Hunt lifts teammate Bam Jackson in the air to celebrate Jackson's TD in the football game between ULL and New Mexico State University at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana on October 13, 2018. Michael O. Curley, Special to The Advertiser